The SpaceX Starship rocket disintegrated in space just minutes after launch from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to change course to avoid debris and slowing Elon Musk's flagship rocket program, reports Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
SpaceX's mission control lost contact with the recently upgraded Starship spacecraft, which was carrying its first test payload of satellite mockups but no crew, about eight minutes after liftoff from the launch site in South Texas at 5:38 p.m. (10:38 p.m. GMT).
Video shot by Reuters shows orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind them.
"We've lost all communication with the vehicle - that essentially tells us we had an anomaly with the upper stage," SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said, confirming a few minutes later that the spacecraft had been lost.
The Starship upper stage last failed in March of last year when it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, but SpaceX failures rarely cause such widespread disruption to air traffic.
Dozens of commercial flights were diverted to other airports or changed course to avoid potential debris, according to the FlightRadar24 flight tracking website. Departures from Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports in Florida were also delayed by about 45 minutes, it added.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates private launches, said it briefly slowed and rerouted planes around the space debris impact area, but normal operations have since resumed.
SpaceX CEO Musk posted a video on X showing a field of debris and said: "Outcome was uncertain, but excitement guaranteed!"
Musk said a preliminary failure analysis showed an internal liquid oxygen fuel leak created pressure and led to the rocket's breakup.
The FAA will likely investigate the incident, which will ground Starship flights - as the agency has done in the past - and determine whether any rocket debris fell on populated areas or outside the pre-defined hazard zone for Starship.
The incident threatens to derail Musk's goal of launching at least 12 Starship test flights this year, depending on how quickly SpaceX can implement fixes and whether the FAA opens an investigation.
"So far nothing suggests the next launch should be delayed by more than a month," Musk said.
The billionaire, appointed to a new role cutting government spending by the new President Donald Trump, has repeatedly criticized the FAA for over-regulation and politically motivated decision-making.
Thursday's mission was the seventh Starship test by SpaceX this year as part of Musk's multi-billion dollar efforts to develop a rocket capable of carrying people and cargo to Mars, as well as launching large satellite batches into Earth orbit.
The failure came a day after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin successfully launched its giant New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.